PHOTOS: New 42nd Street Subway Connector Opens To Public

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — Big changes don't come often to the New York City Subway system, but this week's unveiling of the new 42nd Street Shuttle connector may qualify.

Under construction since 2019, the $1.8 million project aims to modernize the highly-used shuttle that runs between Grand Central and Times Square. Besides adding access to the Bryant Park subway station, it includes beautified passageways and improvements that make the shuttle ADA-accessible.

On Friday, the MTA unveiled the new connector, which links the Times Square and Bryant Park stations for the first time. It features an elaborate mosaic by the artist Nick Cave (of no relation to the Australian singer), which spans the entire hallway and depicts his signature soundsuit sculptures as static, tiled figures.

The walkway will be open only during the day, between 6 a.m. and 11:59 p.m. (the subway map has already been updated). More than 100,000 people used the shuttle on a typical weekday before the pandemic.

In all, the MTA says the project makes the formerly-confounding shuttle into a more commuter-friendly experience.

The three curved train tracks that formerly defined the Times Square end of the shuttle have been reduced to two and straightened out, with a single, wider platform in between them. The columns that once obstructed the platform no longer do so, and the large gaps between the platform and tracks have also been narrowed, the MTA said.

The platform itself is now ADA-accessible — though disability advocates have protested that the Bryant Park connector is itself inaccessible, forcing wheelchair users to venture above ground to move between the stations.

Other components of the completed shuttle project include wider stairwells at the Grand Central mezzanine and a new elevator at Times Square.

The 42nd Street Shuttle opened in 1904, making it one of the oldest components of the subway system. The two stations it links are the busiest in the city.

"After this has been talked about for literally decades, it's finally been rebuilt," said Janno Lieber, the MTA's acting chair and CEO, at a news conference Friday.